


Yellow Spinels

by alltheshipping



Series: Y/S [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Discussion of Abortion, F/F, Gem Egg Hell, Miscarriage, Spinel is a hazard to herself, The egg equivalent at least, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22141111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheshipping/pseuds/alltheshipping
Summary: After going to live with the Diamonds, Spinel thought that her life would return to what it used to be before Pink Diamond dissapeared: Entertaining others.Well, turns out things wouldn't be as easy as she thought.
Relationships: Past Pearl/Rose Quartz, Spinel/Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe)
Series: Y/S [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944127
Comments: 16
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

The Diamonds would argue sometimes, that's something she got used to quite fast. They're all unused to this new life, to this new Homeworld, to their new lives without a set purpose; of course conflict would arise every once in a while.  
However, this was the first time the discussion sounded so serious. More importantly, it was the first time they were fighting because of her.

"Yellow, you shouldn't have been so reckless! She doesn't even understand what you've done!"

That much was true: They still hadn't told her what was wrong with her. Lately, stretching and jumping and moving around energetically like she always did had been taking a tool on her. And, when the others started to notice her uncharacteristical stillness, some test were ran on her gem.  
She hadn't been told the problem yet. With some luck, perhaps they'd explain the situation later. 

"How was I supposed to know this could happen?! Diamonds aren't supposed to be able to have gemlings! You told us that yourself, White."

"I said we couldn't carry, Yellow. I never mentioned anything about not being able to be sires. Besides, we didn't bring Spinel for that type of entertainment."

Perhaps they had, in fact, forgotten about her presence in the room, seeing how they talked freely about her as though she wasn't even present. Should she interrupt them, then? It's not like they were in charge anymore. If she had something to say, they had no right to ignore her anymore, since now they were equals.  
Besides, being confused was getting rather boring.

"What are gemlings?" She asked, loud enough to try and be heard by those three. With such big ears, one would think they'd be better at listening.

Apparently, that alone put the little argument to a stop, as all the Diamonds remained silent after the question. How peculiar.  
Maybe this was more serious than she thought.

For a few moments, nobody even said a word, as she anxiously awaited for an answer and the trio exchanged glances, as if trying to decide who would be the one to tell her.  
At last, it was Blue Diamond who stepped forward, kneeling down so that they could see more or less eye to eye. Something felt very, very wrong about the way she looked at Spinel.

"We'll send a gem to explain that to you, dear. For now, please go to your room."

Seeing that they were much more concerned with their little quarrel than with her (the one affected by whatever this "gemling" thing was), she had no other option than to nod and do as ordered. Hearing them arguing was getting old anyway, and having some answers was definitely good, even if they didn't came from the Diamonds themselves.  
Maybe she could sort this situation on her own once she knew what the problem actually was, and show them just how useful she could be. After all, what could be so wrong?

\---

Good news: The Agate that came to her room explained everything, and apparently "gemlings" weren't some kind of horrific gem disease that would destroy her. 

Bad news: Literally everything else.

Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but she truly had no clue what to do with all the information she'd just heard. She was carrying tiny gems inside her! How was that even possible? Why didn't she know about that? Why didn't Yellow Diamond mention that was a possibility? 

Oh, the Diamonds. They were so mad about this. That means it's bad, right? She'd screwed things up, now. She blew her chance at staying at the palace, because they surely wouldn't want anything to do with her after this.  
They didn't shatter gems anymore, so that was relieving, but that just meant they were going to keep her away in some other way.

What if they sent her back to the garden, since nobody went there anymore? Or they could leave her on an old, abandoned colony, with all the useless things that were left behind because they were no longer useful.  
Maybe they'd even throw her on some random star, to wander aimlessly around space forever.

And what about the tiny gems? According to the Agate, having gemlings was a long forgotten thing, and most gems nowadays either didn't know about that possibility or thought that the idea of having them was barbaric and idiotic.  
Would those little things be left behind with her, too? That would make her less lonely, at least, but it still didn't feel right. Perhaps they'd be sent to Earth, so the Diamonds didn't have to deal with them. So many futures, none of them looking good...

Well, even if she wasn't in very good shape, escaping was always an option. Surely there would be a nice, big window not too far from her room she could jump from. The ground couldn't be as far as it looked, right?

However, before she had the time to actually set any plans into motion, the three Diamonds came back, now at least appearing less angry. Had they chosen her punishment already?  
Without waiting for another second, she proceeded to kneel down and grab White Diamond's foot, sobbing so hard that it wouldn't surprise her if everybody on Homeworld had heard it.

"I'm sorry, my Diamonds! I... I didn't mean for this to happen! I didn't even know it could happen" She begged, trying desperately to think of a solution. For all that the Agate had mentioned, she hadn't informed her of how to get rid of the gemlings "I'm sure I can solve this! I can... I can..."

Speaking became more and more difficult the heavier her crying got, making her finally let go of White Diamond in fear that she would take offence to her getting her all wet with tears. The worst thing she could do right now was enrage them even more.  
So, she took a moment to compose herself, attempting to take deep breaths. One of the pearls told her it helped, although she wasn't seeing any results now.

She just hoped they just wouldn't sent her too far away, then.

The Diamonds waited a few more seconds to see if she could stabilize herself and, upon seeing that she couldn't, lifted her up so they could see eye to eye.  
It felt uncomfortable to be so close to them when she knew they wanted to get rid of her, but she wasn't in the mood to start running. She would just have to accept her destiny: being alone again.

"Spinel, we aren't mad at you" Blue Diamond was quick to assure her, sounding just as kind as usual "You're not the one that is to blame for this."

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes at the statement, but didn't reply anything, apparently willing to take responsibility for the situation. Which meant she was getting away scot-free, and she wasn't going to be sent to another lonely prison on who knows where.  
As relieving as that was, though, there was still another problem. An smaller one.

"And what are we going to do with these gemlings things? The Agate said I had to wait a few months, but can't I get rid of them now?"

The silence that followed that question was sufficient answer, sadly. Were those things unbreakable, or did the Diamonds simply dislike the idea of shattering the tiny gems? Perhaps gemlings were included in Steven's pacifist idea of not destroying anyone. After all, from what she heard, they were apparently very fragile and weak; it would make sense for him to want to protect them.  
Still, he wasn't there. They could always just keep quiet about everything and nobody would ever know...

"The geodes and, by extension, the gemlings that are forming inside of you are part of your gem at the moment. That's why you feel less energetic: they're using the energy in your gem" White Diamond finally decide to say, looking down at her "Anything that we did to them, you would suffer from it too. There's nothing you can do about them for now."

For now. So later she would have the chance to do something. Well, with some luck, it wouldn't hurt too bad.  
Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

"What will we do with them if they're born?" Back on the old days, that wouldn't even been a question. Her hybrid children, whatever gem they might be, would be shattered on the spot. But perhaps this new era had something in store for them.

"...We'll figure it out later. For now, you should rest, Spinel."

And, just like that, they left again. Probably to argue some more and see if they could come to an agreement about what to do without even consulting her.  
Well, the Diamonds were still new to seeing others as equal, so perhaps that just meant they didn't see her opinion as important. She could always give it later, though.  
At least she hoped they'd listen to that.

Now, she'd a lot to think about.

\---

Unsurprisingly, records on gem reproduction were almost completely nonexistant, but she tried to read everything she could find. None of the things she found sounded particularly fun, though: Suddenly having the need to consume minerals? Losing her abilities like shapeshifting because of how much strain the gemlings would put on her body? Feeling constantly exhausted, even when she barely did anything? No wonder nobody did this anymore by the time she was made!

It would ruin her job as an entertainer, surely. How was she going to make the Diamonds laugh if she couldn't do anything?

However, she could only guess what would happen to her based on some old accounts from mostly pearls, quartzes and a few rubies. Nothing that mentioned any spinels (did her type of gem even exist so long ago?), much less any implication that the diamonds could do it. Whether those would be her exact symptoms or not, she had no way of knowing.  
Thought, considering many gems still saw the matriarchs as their leaders, even without the empire, perhaps she should take pride in being the first to carry a diamond's geode, even if it seemed like it was going to be an awful experience.

Would she have mini diamonds, or would they all be spinels? She seriously hoped it was the later: she would inflate like one of those human balloon things with something so big inside.  
Or perhaps they would be tiny half diamonds, like Steven.

...Wait. 

How had Steven been born, anyway? Had Pink Diamond went through whatever she was going through right now? Would the Crystal Gems know how to help in this situation?  
Well, going back to Earth not too long after their little fight didn't sound good, but she hadn't been given a lot of choices to pick from, and this could help more than all those old, boring documents.

With a new plan in mind, she quickly (or well, as quickly as she could now that her mobility was restrained) searched for one of those small ships that were all over the base. Why did they have so many? Perhaps as a status symbol, perhaps as decoration, but it didn't matter now: What mattered was that they were going to be very useful.  
...If she figures out how the controls work, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, getting to Earth hadn't been nearly as hard as she predicted. The Diamonds sent her a message halfway through the trip to tell her to come back, but she ignored them, sure that her plan made much more sense than waiting around for them to stop arguing.  
She also accidentally poofed herself when trying to go faster and crashed the ship, but hopefully that wouldn't be an issue for the gemlings.

Once she was back on Earth, finding Steven wasn't that hard. Thankfully, her ship fell not too far from his home, so she could see the temple from afar.  
The walk there had been incredibly boring, but surely knowing what to do with her current situation would be worth a few moments of boredom. After all, once she knew how to let the geodes out of her body, her powers would be back and she could continue to play as always.

The first to find her had been the fusion (Garnet, was it?), who offered to help her get to the house. Why, she had no idea, but walking was getting a little tiring, so she accepted.

Just how much energy did those tiny things need, anyway? Because getting tired from walking wasn't something she expected. As Pink's playmate, she'd been made specifically to be resilient and energetic, so she could keep up with a Diamond without accidentally getting poofed all the time. Moving around shouldn't be an issue.  
Perhaps now she was starting to see what the other three were so mad about.

"Spinel? What are you doing here?" Steven asked the second he saw her arrive on Garnet's arms (the fusion insisted on doing that, saying that she would need her energy later) "Listen, I'm kind of busy, so..."

"This is important! Very, very important" She decided to interrupt, not wanting him to leave her on her own now. She had crashed a ship to get to Earth, damn it; she wasn't leaving without getting something "It's about the Diamonds!"

That did get the boy's attention, thankfully, and Garnet decided to let her down so they could talk in peace. Pity; she was starting to get real comfortable in her arms.

"What did they do to you? Are you hurt?" The worry surprised her a little, since they weren't friends anymore (Or were they?), but perhaps that's just because Steven cares about everything. Even about her "Now that I look at you close, you do look different... What happened?"

"Uh... Well, I'm not hurt, exactly" She started, feeling about awkward about having to explain this very strange situation "I'm dealing with gemlings, so... Since you are one, I wanted to ask you for advice?"

He stared at her for a few seconds, obviously confused but still trying to find help. Maybe it had been so long ago he didn't remember how he had been as a gemling. Or maybe, since Pink Diamond wasn't around, he didn't know how one was supposed to take care of one because no one took care of him.  
That was kind of sad, now that she thought about it. Hopefully at least one of the gems would remember.

After some more waiting, he finally moved a little to the side, watching the fusion that still stood behind her tentatively, as though he was about to say something. Finally! This silence was getting way too tense for her liking.

"Garnet, what's a gemling?"

\---

After a brief conversation that didn't tell her anything that she hadn't already heard, she was escorted inside the house and then told to sit on the couch while those two went to search for someone who could explain things to her.  
Had it been any other occasion, she would have refused to simply stay put and wait, but she didn't have a choice now. If the Crystal Gems couldn't help her, then nobody else could. 

Once she spend some time waiting and entertaining herself with the presence of the Amethyst (which still didn't seem to like her, but whatever), the fusion came back, this time with the Pearl. Pink's Pearl.  
Well, one would guess a Pearl that used to belong to a Diamond would know confidential information such as old gem reproduction, but the other pearls didn't seem to have any idea of it. And this one wasn't even that old to remember what things would have been like when gems still functioned like that.

Pearl looked up at Garnet, then down at Amethyst, and both of them left in silence.  
Being alone with someone that used to be so close to someone who hurted her so deeply was uncomfortable, but she didn't have time to think about that now.

"So... Gemlings, uh?" She was asked, and only then Spinel noticed how uncharacteristically silent she was acting "How many?"

"I'm... supposed to know how many there are?" In all honesty, she hadn't even thought of that. Maybe there were a lot of geodes, and that's why they were giving her so much trouble.

"Well, yes, but if you don't know, that might just be because they're still forming. Once some time has passed, you should be able to feel them and count them."

Oh, so she hadn't been doing anything wrong; they were just not formed enough to tell yet! Hopefully it would only be one or two, so she could take care of them without needing to stop entertaining.  
The agate had told her that there were probably going to be between four and nine, however, but that could just be because she was talking about quartzes. Spinels probably didn't have that many, right?

"How long will it take for me to feel them?" She said, to avoid thinking about the possibility of ending up with a billion gemlings. That would get very tiring fast.

"Oh, about seven months, more or less. Geodes don't take a lot of time to form" Pearl explained, using her gem to show a small projection of what appeared to be an egg "Your gem will use a great part of your energy to try and create a solid body, so you'll need to start ingesting minerals to help. After all, the gemlings need a physical gem to later show the light projection that would be their bodies, and you can't make that out of thin air."

That sounded... complicated. She had never ingested anything before, unless it was for a joke, in which case she'd just spit it out later. It did seem to make sense, though, so perhaps she should keep that in mind. The Diamonds probably had some minerals somewhere in Homeworld.

"Once both the geode and the solid gem inside the geode are formed, you should just wait for about a year before the gemlings hatch. They need this time to properly figure out how to manifest their light and create a body that's functional, so that they can navigate the world without accidentally poofing themselves."

She took some time to evaluate all that information, trying to think about any other questions she had about the whole process. She still had so many doubts, too many to count, but at least knowing this helped slightly. Now she knew how much time she had to figure all this stuff out.  
Still, there was something else that plagued her mind at the moment. Something that didn't really have anything to do with her, but that she couldn't help but wonder.

"How do you know all this stuff?"

Pearl went silent at that, staring at her like she just asked her something incredibly private. Perhaps she had, although she hadn't meant to.  
Only the seagulls outside of Steven's house dared to make any noise at that moment, leaving both gems feeling deeply uncomfortable while one awaited for an answer and the other thought of what to say.

Well, if the Crystal Gems never wanted to see her again after that, at least she learnt some stuff before getting kicked out.

"I... carried gemlings once. Long ago" That was something that she found but obvious and unexpected at the same time, since the Pearl didn't seem particularly close to anyone, but perhaps something had gone bad. That would explain why she looked even paler than usual.

"Who's?" 

"Pink's."

"Ew, gross."

Maybe she shouldn't have said that, seeing the look Pearl gave her upon hearing it, but it hadn't been intentional; it just escaped her.

"...Sorry" She muttered under her breath, trying not to make the situation worse. After all, she needed all the help she could get.

"It's fine. I know you don't like her" The reply sounded empty, like Pearl wasn't really fine, but she tried not to think about it. Talking about her late diamond wouldn't be good for anyone "Regardless, I know what it's like to carry a diamond's geodes, so I'll try my best to help."

Well, that much was nice. Surely, if the gem had some experience, she would be able to help her go through all this and nothing would go wrong!  
Still, it felt like there was something missing in all of that...

"Where's your gemlings?"

Pearl's face seemed to contort upon hearing that, despite still very much trying to look supportive. 

"That's... not important, Spinel. There's still lots of advice I need to give you."

\---

By the time the Diamonds had arrived on Earth, she'd already heard pretty much everything they could tell her. It had been awkward at times, and Pearl had broke down crying two times during their conversation, but she was pretty certain now that this pregnancy thing couldn't be so difficult.  
Actually, dealing with her very angry and worried diamonds was probably going to be much, much harder.

"Spinel! There you are" White Diamond was the first to notice her coming out of the house, and quickly reached out to hold her "When we were informed that your ship crashed, we immediately came down to Earth to check on you."

"Sorry for the trouble, but I'm okay!" She was fast to announce deciding to skip the part where she poofed so that they wouldn't feel even worse. After all, Pearl had told her it (probably) hadn't affected the gemlings.

"We're going back to Homeworld in this instant, and you're not abandoning our side until we tell you!" Well, seems like Yellow wasn't going to let her go scot free for this one, despite it being her fault that she had some geodes to take care of "This was too impulsive and overdramatic, even for you."

Deciding that the best course of action was to get Blue Diamond on her side, she looked up at her with sad eyes, showing her regret. Not that she actually regretted going to Earth, of course, but well... she did regret leaving without asking for a pilot first. There were safer routes than stealing the first ship she found.  
Thankfully, making Blue pity her was one of the easiest tricks she could pull.

"Oh, Yellow, don't be so hard on her. She's obviously scared of all this" The soft voice filled her ears as Blue took her from White's hands, holding her close "Besides, you're in no place to call her impulsive."

Well, seeing as how Yellow's cheeks got darker, she was safe for now. No punishment this time!  
Just as she was about to celebrate, though, her gem pulsated, making her lose balanced. Well, that hurt, just as Pearl had told her it would hurt.

"Spinel, are you in pain?" White Diamond asked, perceptive as always, getting closer to her. That quickly caught the attention of the other two.

"Yes, my diamond..." She whispered, sitting down on Blue's hand. These geodes really were screwing her energy "We should go back to Homeworld...I'll explain everything there."

Ha, for once she would be doing the explaining. Who would know a simple Spinel would one day have more information than a Diamond?  
Still, she would make sure to avoid talking about Pink Diamond, Pearl, and the geodes they made. She didn't want them to ask her questions that she didn't have the answers to and, guessing by the way Pearl acted while talking about the little ones, something told her that things had gone very wrong in the past. No need to give her diamonds more stress by telling them things might end bad.


	3. Chapter 3

One, two, three, four, five and six. Six geodes. Now that she could actually feel them, counting them hadn't been hard, even if they moved quite a lot inside her.   
Still, she had counted them various times already, and most of the time they appeared to be six, so she was pretty confident on that guess. After all, if wasn't very likely that she had miscounted them that many times.

Feeling them also meant checking their sizes, and they seemed to be getting quite big. It had only been three months of the seven she'd been told to wait, but she already felt full to the brim.   
Was it because they were diamond geodes? Because, if she'd to carry a gem of that magnitude, she surely would end up exploding. Besides, with how many gemlings she was going to have, what if half of them were diamonds?  
Oh, yeah, that was definitely going to be an issue.

"Spinel, what are you doing?" Yellow Diamond asked her, and she nearly jumped at how unexpected the sound was. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed someone coming into the room.

"Oh, nothing, my diamond. Just making sure everything's good with the geodes!" She informed happily, giving a little jump. Her energy was still low, but the excitement of feeling her gemlings grow couldn't be repressed.

Of course, she hadn't wanted them at first, but now it was different. After some thought, she realized that having them didn't mean she'd have to give up on entertaining the Diamonds; it meant entertaining them too! How fun it would be, teaching the young ones to play!  
Yes, they'd need to learn to speak and walk before that, but that surely wouldn't be boring. The gems on Earth showed her videos of human babies, and they looked adorable. She could already imagine her little ones waddling around the palace, struggling to move around using their small legs.

Her fantasies were shattered once she heard Yellow Diamond sigh loudly, her joy being replaced by worry.

"Something the matter, my diamond?" 

"What are you planning to do with the gemlings once they're born, Spinel?" 

The question took her off guard. Wasn't it obvious? After all, she spent those last few months calling to Earth every once in a while to talk about how to raise children, asking Pearl for more information and hearing stories of Steven's childhood from a human called Greg.   
Hell, she even tried to find other gems on Homeworld that might have carried gemlings before, with no luck. Pretty much anyone that lived in an era were gem reproduction was common had already either died or forgotten, and so far no one else had attempted it in Era 3.  
Why would she go through all that effort if she wasn't planning to take care of them?

...Unless she was asking because she wanted to convince her to let go of them, which wasn't happen. No way she was going to abandon others like she'd been abandoned.

"Well, I was planning on raising them" She answered in a whisper, unsure of how that would be taken "Don't you want to keep them?"

At that, Yellow Diamond knelt down, staring at her stomach with an unreadable expression. A little worried now, she covered her midriff with both hands protectively, just in case the other tried anything.  
Enlarging her arms was quite hard with how fast her energy drained nowadays, but at least it would work to guard her geodes.

"You're making it sound like an easy choice. It's not" The harsh comment made her panic even more, although nothing had happened so far "I thought giving you time to figure this all out would make you realize just how ludicrous the whole idea is, but I see now that's not what happened. Gemlings are a hard thing to deal with, Spinel."

How was she even supposed to answer to that? She had no clue. Yes, she knew none of the diamonds were particularly happy with the geodes, but all this time she'd thought that they keep quiet because they were trying to get used to the idea. Instead, what they wanted was for her to give up on the little beings inside of her. Why?

"Your body might not even be capable of carrying those gemlings until the end" Yellow continued, staring down at her with a disappointed expression "What are you going to do if they don't form? What if they do, but they're defective? They wouldn't last a decade, with how fragile those things are. You're putting to much effort in something that'll be ultimately useless."

"I..." She'd ran out of words, now thinking about all those bad possibilities. Was her diamond right? Had all of this been for nothing? "Why... didn't you tell me all of this sooner?"

"We didn't think you'd actually care about them and, once we saw how much you loved them, we didn't know how to tell you. Blue said to wait until the perfect time, but I'm tired of waiting. So, now you know what to expect."

It would have saved her a lot of heartbreak, knowing from the start that she shouldn't even get attached. Perhaps she did get excited too early.   
She hadn't been good for Pink; what made her think she'd be good for the other diamonds?

\---

She went back to Earth later that day, to see if maybe there her tears might stop. At least there she wouldn't have to deal with the Diamonds watching over her, feeling pity for how fragile she was.  
And maybe, just maybe, she also went there to see Pearl again, hoping to hear good news.

What did people on Homeworld know about gemlings, anyway? Nothing! Surely, if she tried hard enough and fought with all her might, at least one of the geodes would end up hatching!   
She continued to ingest all kinds of minerals on her way to Steven's house, just in case. Maybe a little extra energy was all that she needed to solve this issue.

"What's the matter this time?" The amethyst asked once she reached the door, watching her cry with a confused look "Hang on, I'll go get the others. Just sit around here for a sec."

Not in the mood to play around or complain, she sat down on the couch, letting her arms fall on the floor and entangle. Why they insisted on getting longer when she was down, she had no idea, but at least it entertained her to see what a mess she was.  
Perhaps she should live here, on this planet, if the diamonds didn't want to take care of the gemlings (They would form, she was sure of it!). Then, she could entertain gems on Little Homeschool, and the little ones could learn how to paint or whatever the hell those Crystal Gems taught there.  
It wouldn't be ideal by any means, but it still would be miles better than simply throw the geodes out once she'd laid them and pretend that they hadn't ever existed. They didn't deserve to be abandoned.

It took way longer than she expected for the rest of the team to come back but, finally, they arrived. Surprisingly, Steven was the first one to approach her.

"What happened this time?"

That question was more than enough for her to open up, recalling everything Yellow Diamond had said in detail and narrating it while she cried her eyes out. The gems appeared greatly uncomfortable with how expressive and dramatic she was being, but she really couldn't care less at that momen; she was too terrified of the future to care about decency.  
By the time she'd calmed down enough to not drown every other noise out with her crying, Steven looked mad. More than she'd ever seen him before, in fact.

Perhaps it had been a good idea to tell him all that stuff.

"Spinel, I'm sorry Yellow Diamond talked to you like that" He said softly, though it seemed like he was about to punch someone. Was he more pink than usual? Did humans change color like that? "I'll talk to her about this, OK? Wait here."

And, just like that, he ran to the nearest warp pad, surely to go fix her situation. Yes, just what she needed! If anyone could change Yellow's mind about the gemlings, that would be Steven!  
However, before she even managed to say anything else, Pearl grabbed her shoulder softly, trying to get her attention.   
Oh no, this definitely wasn't good.

"I... need to show you something, Spinel."

\---

Geodes. She'd never seen one before, not even on pictures; most of Homeworld's records only had drawings of how those looked and, for as good as they were, they didn't compare to seeing the real thing.  
And gems, too. Small ones, smaller than those of an aquamarine. And deformed: One was an oddly shaped rhombus with of a very pale pink hue, while the other two were pure white ovals that had strange formations at the top, like tiny mountains.

"These are... yours?" She asked, incredulously. Judging by the fact that she hadn't heard about Pink Diamond having other gemlings, she supposed something had gone wrong, but she didn't think it went this badly.

"Yes, they are" Pearl answered sadly, bringing one of the geodes so she could see it clearly "These four never hatched and, the ones that did, well... They didn't manage to keep an stable form and ended up like this."

Never, never had she imagined that there could be a way a gem wouldn't be unable to form, even if they were left on their own. She heard that sometimes, in the Kindergartens, gems wouldn't come out of the ground because of lack of minerals in the floor, so perhaps that had been the mistake.  
The warm water of Pearl's room at least managed to calm her nerves slightly, but even that couldn't compete with the horror of imagining herself in this position, not too long in the future.

"You see... Rose didn't want the others to know she was Pink Diamond. However, if one of the gemlings ended up being a diamond, her secret would be uncovered. So, for the last few months I carried, I tried my best to pretend everything was the same, until we figured our what to do" Pearl started to explain, looking at the malformed diamond with an expression drenched in guilt "I shapeshifted the best way I could to keep them from showing, and I would avoid eating for hours just so Garnet and Amethyst wouldn't notice and ask about it."

Oh, she could see were that story was going, and it didn't sound pleasant. Still, she stayed shut, trying not to look too hopeless.

"And... I don't know what happened, but my best guess is that I didn't take good enough care of myself, with how stressed I was. Rose was distant, too, since this would change everything for the team" That did make her feel more angry than sad, if she had to admit it: How could Pink be so selfish as to be thinking of nothing but herself at a time like that?  
However, that could just be her instincts, since now she was also carrying (and being ignored by the person who was at fault for it).

"The point is, once I laid them... The three of them that ended up hatching were too unstable to maintain an actual form. Their gems didn't have what they needed to function, so... I just keep them here. On bubbles."

Well, wasn't that horribly disheartening? What did she even say now? That she should have said that before, when she first came to Earth for advice? That she now felt like all the effort she had done in those months was truly useless, and Yellow Diamond was right? That now she wanted to cry again?  
As though sensing her distress, the fusion sat down besides both of them, holding her hand softly. The gems on her palms were cold to the touch, but she wasn't in the mood to complain about that.

"This isn't meant to discourage you, Spinel. You still have time to make things right" Garnet said gently, now moving one of her hands to caress her hair. That helped her relax a little, at least "I hadn't even known about what happened to Pearl until very recently, but I know about you, and I can see a future were things go right."

Wait, what?  
Of course! One of the components of the fusion was a sapphire, right? Someone had told her that before. If she said that the gemlings would be alright, then that's because she could see it happen! Coming back to Earth hadn't been as hopeless as she initially thought.

"Are you... seeing anything good?" She asked, wishing to finally hear something less depressing. If stress was bad for the geodes, then she definitely needed to start calming down.

"I can see futures where four or even five of them hatch, all nice and healthy" That answer was better than expected, especially after seeing the disaster what had been Pearl's failed attempt. However, it did make her a little sad knowing that of the six she counted, at least one of them wouldn't make it no matter what "But, for that to happen, you need to take care of yourself. If Yellow Diamond gives you more trouble, you can stay on Earth with us. We'll help."

That sounded like a fine idea, but she'd have to think about it some more. After all, being the sire, shouldn't Yellow Diamond wish to stay by her side? Wasn't that how things worked?   
Though, based around the last conversation they had, perhaps being away would help ease her worries. At least there she'd have someone who had been through the whole process of both carrying and delivering the geodes.

Maybe everything wasn't so bad.

\---

Steven came back a few hours later, looking both tired and frustrated. Apparently, his chat with Yellow Diamond didn't go to good, but he advised her to go back to Homeworld for now, to see if maybe now she would be heard.  
It sounded more than a bit frightening to confront her diamond again but, if it was better for the geodes, then it would be better for her.

Besides, the fusion assured that she didn't see any futures were her gemlings would be injured, either on purpose or accidentally, by Yellow, so she felt confident that the whole conflict could be resolved.

"Oh, you came back" Was the uninterested comment she heard the second she stepped inside of Yellow Diamond's room. For a sire, she didn't sound at all worried about where she'd been "I assumed you went to Earth to rethink your idea of having those gems, but it doesn't seem like it."

Maybe she should've thought about what to say before entering because, now that she was in front of her, she was at a loss for words. Next time, she'll write down all her complaints on a document and send them to her that way. After all, Yellow liked reading documents, right?

"Listen, you don't even know what a geode looks like, so I think that-"

"I do know what a geode looks like! I know more than you, probably!" 

Oh, had she said that out loud?  
She looked up to Yellow's face now, noticing how caught of guard she appeared. Yeah, definitely said that out loud.

"What geodes have you seen, then? I thought you hadn't been able to find any gems that carried" That tone of voice seemed was clear: her diamond thought she was lying. She'd never told her about Pink's gemlings, after all, worrying about how she'd react. 

"I found one" She answered fast, not wanting to give out too many details. Seeing how bad Pearl had done in her place would probably only make it less likely for her diamond to change her mind "And, even if I hadn't, that doesn't mean I don't know anything. I'm trying my best to learn."

That got her diamond to at least pay more attention to her words, which meant she was doing good. Maybe that's what she needed to do: show confidence and impart respect! Teach that clod that a spinel could do more than make her laugh!

"You think that I can't do this? Well, I can!" She exclaimed loudly, even if all the effort was making her feel a little tired. Damn, those geodes surely weighted a lot "And if you don't believe me, then just wait. After all, I'm already carrying. Nothing you can do will stop that, right? So, once they hatch, I'll be here to hear your apologies."

On any other era, talking to a diamond like that would've gotten her poofed and shattered in an instant, and her demise would've been used as an example of the matriarch's strength for years to come. Now, however, Yellow Diamond didn't do more than roll her eyes, staring down at her with annoyance.  
She hadn't been able to convince her of her ability to carry the gemlings to term, but that wouldn't be an issue. Sooner or later, she would show her just how wrong she'd been.

"Whatever. Just don't come crying back to me when everything goes badly."

Or well, at least she hoped she was right, and this hadn't just postponed her pain of knowing the gemlings wouldn't hatch.


	4. Chapter 4

Laying the geodes had been hard. They were much, much heavier and bigger than she anticipated, and even her flexible body had trouble adapting to their size. Her gem ached heavily, feeling hot to the touch, and no amount of a sapphire's ice could bring its heat down. And, everytime one of them manage to come out, she would only have a few seconds to relax before the next one started slowly descending and she needed to push again.   
The diamonds had been there to support her, thankfully, but they couldn't really do much for her besides talking to distract her from the pain and offering their fingers for her to hold. Her screams were probably heard all throughout Homeworld, although she couldn't care less, giving how painful the process was.

Still, what came after managed to be even worse, in her opinion. The months of waiting and hoping and fearing for her geodes.

She recovered control of her form, at least, so she could now do all the things she enjoyed so much: Dance, play, deform her form radically for entertainment. However, right now she used it more to jump around the palace, mostly staying close to the fragile eggs to keep an eye on them.  
She had to be patient, she knew that, but it was harder than expected to go to their side day after day and see no changes. After waiting for six thousand years, this should be relatively easy instead of a nightmare.

However, deep down she knew what the matter was, why she had such a hard time simply letting the geodes be until it was the day: Yellow Diamond's words still echoed in her mind, filling her with the idea that they'd never hatch. It was terrifying to think about, and not even Garnet's future vision could make the visions go away. 

Still, there were good days as well, in which she'd see them move just the tiniest bit or in which she'd sit down with them and examine the hard shell that covered them. Three of them were yellow, two of them pink, and the last one was a mixture of both colors. Most of them were about the same size, although one of the pink ones was quite large compared to her siblings.  
She still remembered almost feeling like her gem was about to break when pushing that one out of her body, but she couldn't muster any anger towards the poor thing. Her bigger size probably meant that she just inherited her sire's height, something she would blame Yellow Diamond for and not the gemling.

Steven and the Crystal Gems' visited much more frequently after that, checking to see how everything was going so far and entertaining her while the days passed. Pearl cried when first seeing the geodes, which was more than just a bit awkward, but aside from that, having their company was appreciated.  
Weird, how she went from hating them to actually looking forward to their next visit.

Still, she felt very lonely now that the gemlings were just sitting on their nest. Not that she missed feeling uncomfortable all the time, or being almost incapable of shapeshifting, or having to be very careful with her every move to avoid hurting them. It was just that, now that they were no longer in her, they felt so distant.  
Or perhaps she was just being silly. Hard to tell.

\--

They'd been busy checking the room for the younglings for the tenth time when Blue Pearl came in, exclaiming softly (but with noticeable excitement) that one of the geodes was beginning to move, and even had a small crack on its shell already.  
If she hadn't been waiting that moment for months, she'd probably have taken a second to laugh at Yellow's shocked expression. But, as things were, Spinel didn't waste a second to go see her children.

Her body contorted in all kinds of ways, jumping through the halls in order to reach the room as soon as possible. A few gems were probably scared by her speed, but she didn't have the time to worry about them right now.  
Finally, she was going to be a mother!

Once she got to the nest, her eyes were filled with wonder at the scene before her: Not one, but two of the eggs were moving fervently. It probably wouldn't be long until they opened, and she could take a good look to their forms.  
The Diamonds catched up to her after a few seconds, although she didn't pay any mind to them, too focused on all the details to take her eyes off the geodes for more than a second.   
What had Pearl said, to just let them open and not interfere? Because she remembered hearing that, but it felt wrong to not do anything. 

She didn't know how much time passed (She didn't care, either; she would wait another six thousand years for them, even if she didn't know them yet), but eventually all but one of the shells had cracks all over them, indicating that soon enough the gemlings would get out.  
And, just before she was about to suggest doing something to help them, a small arm broke free.

She was tiny. So, so very tiny and adorable and yellow, just like her sire.   
Once out of her geode, the baby started to whine loudly, laying on the soft nest but being unable to move around much. How fascinating, to think that this one hadn't done anything yet and she still loved her so much.

"She's crying because she wants you to hold her, Spinel" Blue Diamond adviced with a gentle voice, upon noticing that she was still frozen in place, doing nothing more than watching "Once she hears your voice, she'll calm down."

Extending her trembling hands to pick up the little thing, she almost dropped her when that only made the distressed noises worse. However, she trusted that her diamonds knew what they talked about, and proceeded to bring the gemling close to her.  
One of her fingers was on the baby's back, feeling her gem (that appeared to be in the shape of spades) and immediately being able to tell just from touch that she was a spinel, just like her. Well, looks like she'd have someone to play with after all.

"Pleased to meet you, Spinel" She said in a playful tone, making all the cries stop as the gemling moved her hands up, as if trying to get closer to the sound of her voice "Oh, look at you; aren't you just an adorable little rascal?"

"Spinels in that shade aren't very common" Yellow Diamond commented, kneeling besides her to see the rest of the geodes more clearly "How did you manage to have one?"

_I didn't _, she wanted to say, because she hadn't planned to have any special gem type. Hell, she hadn't even known that particular geode was going to be a spinel. However, the pride of hearing Yellow finally act slightly better towards their children was enough to make her stay quiet. If it looked like she made valuable gems on purpose, well, she would take that credit. She deserved it.__

__After about an hour, all but two of the geodes had hatched, leaving her with four gemlings to hold. Not that it was any bother, though: stretching her arms made it easy enough to keep all the little ones comfortable while she waited for their siblings to come out.  
By now, they had another yellow spinel (Further impressing the diamonds, who looked much more eager to take care of the gemlings than before), a tourmaline with both of her parent's colors and a pink spinel like her.   
Steven was right about one thing, though; the little ones would need nicknames. Having four spinels on the palace would be very confusing._ _

__Eventually, one of the two geodes that were left (another pink one) had its shell broken, letting out the gemling for all the world to see.  
Behind her, all three of the Diamonds loudly gasped, sounding genuinely shocked. As she brought the baby closer, it only took her a second to see why. _ _

__"A pink diamond...?" White asked her, sounding like she already knew the answer, but wanted to make sure she wasn't imagining it. Without taking her eyes off of the child, she nodded._ _

__Other gems that had come to see the birth were heard celebrating on the background, far enough as to not disturb the family, but not too far as to not see what was going on. Truly, this had to be the happiest day of her life._ _

__\--_ _

__With five gemlings already out of their shells and needing her attention, she didn't notice too soon that the last yellow geode hadn't yet cracked. It hadn't even moved at all, as far as she could remember, but she'd always ignored this, making excuses as to why it stayed still.  
Now, seeing that it hadn't shown any signs of life even two weeks after her sisters were brought into the world, she had no choice but to accept the reality: it just wasn't going to take form._ _

__"I'm sure you did your best" Pearl said to her once she saw the situation, trying to sound encouraging "It's not your fault. They probably were too much for your body, and this one just didn't get enough minerals and energy."_ _

__It seemed like a likely explanation, but she didn't enjoy hearing it. Why couldn't her physical form handle just one more gemling? With how much she ate, it should have been more than enough for all of them to survive. Why didn't this one make it? Had she just been a bad mother, or would this one been unable to make it even if she did everything she possibly could to help her?  
While hearing that she could have helped but didn't was terrible, imagining that nothing she could do would have helped her gemling sounded just as cruel._ _

__Gently, she bubbled the geode and took it to Yellow's room, were she would have some peace. She couldn't take her to her own room: the other gemlings would see it and, eventually, they'd want to know what happened.  
Yellow Diamond, however, didn't want anyone in her space, and she probably wouldn't care about seeing the geode there. She hadn't even cared that much about the five ones that were alive._ _

___Perhaps one day it'll hatch _She thought to herself, even if things did seem pretty hopeless for this one. After all, the geode had been the smallest of the bunch, and her sisters probably hoarded all the minerals she had needed.__ _ _

____Going back to her room, though, she found herself smiling again upon seeing Steven sing to the other gemlings, which appeared enraptured in his voice. They liked music a fair bit, since their hearing was much better than their sight, and keeping them entertained with tunes made it easier to get them to calm down and sleep.  
Even if one didn't make it, at least the other five did. And she'd make sure to protect them from everything, no matter what._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end! I'm kind of surprised I haven't gotten any negative comments so far, but I guess I just thought the fandom was worse than it actually is.  
> Regardless of that, I wanna thank all of you for your support! I've been thinking about the gemlings personalities and how each of them will look when they're older, but I'm not promising a sequel to this work (Or, if I do make a sequel, it probably will only have one or two chapters). I'm not a fan of making OC-oriented stories, but if you're curious, I might consider posting a few one shots to at least show how the family's doing in the future.  
> Thank you for reading!


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